The Journey of Barothorn
by Zooboss
Summary: This is the story of my LOTRO character, Barothorn, on Crickhollow. Please Review, any and all reviews are appreciated. On Hiatus while I work on the Master of the Spine in Inheritance Cycle category.
1. Prologue

Prologue: Osgiliath

When Numenoreans come of age they chose their class.

They can be stealthy Burglars, that can sneak past their foes, easily spying on all potential adversaries.

They can be noble Captains, leaders of Men, leading their soldiers to victory.

They could be mighty Champions, warriors who can fight many foes, heroes of the West.

They might pick to be great Guardians, soldiers who can stand up to any foe, defenders of the West.

They can also be one of mysterious Rangers, hunters who can dispatch their enemies from afar, the bane of evil.

A Numenorean might also chose to be a proud Minstrel, a bard whose songs and tells inspire their allies to great deeds.

They might also deem to be a wise Lore master, an ally of nature, a mighty wizard whom all foes fear.

But this is not the story of Numenoreans, as their age has passed, but rather the story of one of their descendants, a man named Barothorn.

Barothorn's father, Aramir, was a great Captain, the leader of the Gondorian forces guarding Osgiliath.

On the day that Barothorn came of age, the brother's who were his father's immediate commanders came to Osgiliath.

It was an honor to have Boromir and Faramir at the celebration of his coming of age.

Barothorn was torn between which class to pick: A Ranger, like his father's kin, the Dunedain, or Captain, like his father.

As Barothorn strode to his father, to ask his opinion, an arrow flew past his father's face.

No! It came from Faramir, a Ranger. Was it possible Faramir believed his father was a traitor?

Then he noticed, Faramir was signaling to him to turn around.

As he did he saw a great host of orcs.

When his father blew his great war-horn, all the Gondorian men turned as one, and charged towards the enemy.

Knowing his father wouldn't allow him to fight the orcs in hand-to-hand combat, Barothorn picked up a bow, and along with Faramir, shot into the mob of orcs.

Horns sounded, arrows flew, swords clanged on swords, shield shattered, when finally, the mob of orcs dissipated.

Victory! As Barothorn raised his bow triumphantly, he saw, this was not a victory.

Again the men charged into battle, this time with Haradrim, traitors to Mankind, allies of Sauron.

Again horns sounded, men screamed, arrows flew everywhere, and then came the shadow.

A mighty shriek erupted from a rider cloaked in black.

The Haradrim charged again, with another group of orcs, the men of Gondor were fleeing.

Barothorn ran to find his father, and when he did he saw him surrounded by orcs, but his father had a last contingent of his men, including his friend, Baruk, a mighty Champion.

It would be a hard fight, but between his father, Baruk, the soldiers, and his own bow, Barothorn was confidant they could overcome the orcs and escape to fight another day.

Many orcs fell, more came, a couple soldiers fell. Then Barothorn noticed a shift, Baruk seemed to be absorbed by the waves of orcs along with his father.

Barothorn shot arrows into the mass of orcs, without seeming to diminish their number.

Then soldiers began to fall once again first one, then another, two, three, five, eight, too many to count.

Barothorn ran to fall alongside his friends, avenging them while he did. But he never got there, he stumbled into darkness.

When he awoke, saw Faramir, Boromir, and a Ranger.

They told him that when he had stumbled, he fell in the river and they had pulled him out.

They were trying to find the last surviving soldiers. They ventured out of the crumbling building.

Barothorn noticed some movement, across the river his father was running, behind him Baruk, and then foul orcs.

Barothorn ran ahead of his rescuers, and then he noticed that when the orcs reached the bridge, his father stopped and jumped in the river.

Barothorn ran to rescue him when he noticed two things, his father had been stabbed in the back, and Baruk was being paid by the orcs.

Baruk had betrayed his father!

When Barothorn had returned to his group and recounted what had happened, Faramir told him that they had seen Baruk.

He had told them that before he was separated from Aramir, Aramir had told him to visit his cousin, but Baruk didn't know where the cousin was, and believing his story, Faramir had told that in Archet he would find Amdir, Aramir's cousin.

Knowing that Baruk was going to Archet to find Amdir, Barothorn set off to track him down before he could kill anymore of his family…


	2. A Welcoming Party in Archet

Chapter One: A Welcoming Party in Archet

As Barothorn entered Bree-land, he noticed that many folk were nervous, something was going on.

Knowing that, as a Dunedan, Amdir would know what was going on,

Barothorn rushed through the Chetwood, Staddle, and Combe, only to find that the path to Archet was blocked.

Glancing around, Barothorn noticed a man, crouched in the bushes, a bow aimed at passerbys, but never shooting.

Curious, Barothorn stealthily approached the man, he glanced around, seeing if anyone was near. Barothorn bent down and whispered "What are you doing?" The man jumped, frightened, then pulled out a sword, and with a strange yell attempted to club Barothorn on the head.

Ducking, Barothorn punched the man and knocked him over.

The man grimaced, "Turn around." as he did Barothorn saw a group of men, the yell had been a signal!

Knowing he was outnumbered, Barothorn surrendered, preferring to save his energy for a fairer battle.

The brigands however, simply clubbed him on the head and Barothorn fell into darkness…

When Barothorn awoke, he was in a jail cell, and outside was a cloaked Ranger.

From his father's stories, Barothorn could only guess into was Aragorn, the lost heir of Gondor.

As soon as Aragorn, or Strider as he was calling himself, let him out, Aragorn gave Barothorn a bow and a knife, as Barothorn's own weapons were destroyed by the Blackwolds, the name Aragorn informed Barothorn that the bandits called themselves.

Stepping into the courtyard of the jail, Aragorn told Barothorn to free Celadine and Mundo Brandybuck, and that he, Aragorn, would go around the other side.

Going to rescue Celadine first, Barathorn was approached by the Blackwolds.

As each bandit approached him, each bandit was felled by an arrow.

No Blackwold would have the opportunity to club him again.

After rescuing Celadine, she started a fire to drive the Blackwolds out of the cell were they were holding Mundo.

Only a few bandits remained guarding Mundo, and of those none was a match for Barothorn's bow.

As they neared the exit of the jail, they saw Amdir, Finally the Ranger he was looking for!

But, alas, Amdir was fending off a Black Rider, like the one Barothorn had encountered in Osgiliath.

Before Barothorn could nock an arrow to his bow, the Rider let out a mighty shriek, and stabbed Amdir with a Morgul Blade.

The Black Rider approached Barothorn and the hobbits, when Aragorn leaped out and drove the foul rider away.

Amdir, though was gravely injured, and would need to rest in order to recuperate.

Strider led Barothorn and the hobbits to Archet, where they would attempt to heal Amdir and drive the Blackwolds out.


	3. Trouble in Archet

Chapter Two: Troubles in Archet

When the party reached Archet, Barothorn was troubled, Amdir was drifting into and out of consciousness. Aragorn would soon leave to track down a mister Baggins, the Blackwolds were gathering in numbers. But these were not the only perils Barothorn faced, he had not yet found Baruk and he didn't believe that, with Amdir in his state, it would be possible for Barothorn to leave Amdir in order to track down Baruk. So he asked Aragorn what he should do. Knowing of Barothorn's troubles, Aragorn agreed to stay a few more days, enough to guard Archet and Amdir, while Barothorn went off to find some medicine for Amdir and a way to stop the Blackwolds. For the first part, Aragorn said that Barothorn should find athelas leaves, for the had almost mystical healing properties. For the second, Barothorn would have to consult with Captain Brackenbrook.

Captain Brackenbrook told Barothorn to find one of Brackenbrook's greatest allies, Calder Cob. So off went Barothorn, to find Calder Cob and the athelas leaves. Down the side of the road, Barothorn spotted a farm and across it, Bronwe's Folly, teeming with wolves. When Barothorn reached the farm, he encountered Calder Cob, who told Barothorn to go to the ruins near Bronwe's Folly to find what was attracting all the wolves and that within the ruins athelas plants grew. Thanking him, Barothorn ran through Bronwe's Folly, only to find that the wolves didn't appreciate guests.

Thankfully Barothorn had his bow, and he let arrows fly into the hearts of the wolves. Alas, he had not enough arrows to face them all, and was cornered, his back to the ruins and in front of him five snarling wolves. Barothorn grasped his sword, drew it from its sheath, when a man, hooded and cloaked, came along. The man wielded a staff, on his shoulder stood a raven. The wolves paused, looked at the man and then the man spoke a few words in a foreign tongue. The wolves, now looking confused, slowly backed away and then ran into the Folly once more. When Barothorn approached the man, he that under the cloak was the face of a man he had believed dead. Nay, not his father, but his brother Carnuieth. Carnuieth had left the family many years back, in order to venture forth into the world, and had never returned. Barothorn had long ago put Carnuieth out of his mind, in order to still live happily and not live with the scar of his brother's death. Before he could embrace Carnuieth, a flash of light blinded Barothorn, and when he could see Carnuieth was gone.

Confused Barothorn climbed the ruins, in order to ponder what had happened. Carnuieth was alive! Why had he not written to them? Why had he not returned home? Why did he rescue him and then leave him? Was Carnuieth in some sort of troubled? In what tongue had he spoken? What had he said? Why did he have a raven on his shoulder? What was the flash of light? Trying to think logically, Barothorn attempted to piece everything together. Perhaps Carnuieth was lost before, or maybe he had not been able to return home. Writing a letter would have been difficult he was always on the move. Perhaps he had joined an order, like that of the Dunedain. But the bird, the langue, the flash? What were they? The staff is iconic of the Lore-master, as is the raven. But the flash could only come from an experienced Lore-master, one that had-_A twig broke behind Barothorn_-Barothorn jumped up, and drawing his sword he faced a man.

The man said "Calder Cob said to expect a visitor, here you are, and now you leave." The man called upon some wolves to attack Barothorn. Barothorn easily dispatched them with his sword. _Did Calder Cob set me up?_ The man charged Barothorn. As Barothorn sidestepped, the man nearly fell of the top of the ruins, the only thing that saved him was Barothorn. Barothorn quickly bound the man's hands together, he did not need to take his weapons as they had fallen. Taking the man down the staircase of the ruins, Barothorn saw some athelas leaves, and quickly picked them up.

When they arrived in Archet, Barothorn took the man to the jail, and left him to the jailor, Ned Pruner. Barothorn handed Aragorn the athelas leaves, and knelt down next to Amdir, while Aragorn administered a salve to Amdir. Realizing that the Blackwolds were a threat, Captain Brackenbrook told Barothorn to find his son, Jon Brackenbrook.

Off went Barothorn again, to find Jon, and his group of hunters. The cabin where they resided was not far, and the only perils Barothorn was faced with were the giant Marsh-Flies.


End file.
